Stormy Daniels sat down for an exclusive interview with Piers Morgan, which aired Thursday night. This is the first time Daniels has spoken out following Trump’s indictment and court appearance in New York. The porn star said she would “absolutely” testify against Donald Trump if asked but doesn’t want the former president to go to prison for his alleged crimes. Daniels claims she is the only one telling the truth, although she does not believe Trump’s crimes against her are “worthy of incarceration,” she said. “I feel like the other things that he has done if he is found guilty, absolutely.” But when it comes to taking the stand, Daniels is more than willing to finally share her side of the story in this unprecedented case.
INDEPENDENT: Stormy Daniels would ‘absolutely’ testify against Donald Trump – but doesn’t want him jailed
By Eleanor Noyce; April 6, 2023
Porn star Stormy Daniels says she would “absolutely” testify against Donald Trump if asked – but doesn’t want the former president to go to prison for his alleged crimes.
In an interview with Piers Morgan due to be shown on Thursday evening, the adult film actress speaks out for the first time following Trump’s unprecedented court appearance in New York on Tuesday.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records related to alleged hush-money payments to Ms. Daniels and others ahead of the 2016 presidential campaign. He was arraigned after being indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
In the 90 minute programme, Ms Daniels says she has “nothing to hide”, adding: “I’m the only one that has been telling the truth”.
She and Morgan were originally due to speak last week, but their initial talk was postponed due to “security issues.”
Asked if she wants to have her day in court, Ms Daniels replies: “I do, I do. I think having them call me in and put me on the stand legitimises my story and who I am. And if they don’t, it almost feels like they’re hiding me and people will automatically assume – I would – that ‘oh, she must not be a good witness. She’s not credible’.”
However, she doesn’t believe that Trump deserves to be jailed for the crimes he is charged with involving her.
“I don’t think that his crimes against me are worthy of incarceration”, she told Mr Morgan. “I feel like the other things that he has done, if he is found guilty, absolutely”, she added.
“A bigger problem is that if these allegations against him – or whatever else that we don’t know yet – he is found guilty or the evidence suggests that he is or whatever and he doesn’t, that it’s going to just basically…I mean it opens the door for other people to think they can get away with doing that and worse.”
Morgan described Ms Daniels as “feisty, funny and incredibly forthcoming” ahead of the interview’s release.
“Everyone’s had their say about her, now she tells her story about the fling that may send President Trump to prison”, Mr Morgan tweeted, describing the interview as “one of the best” he’s ever done.
Ms Daniels – whose real name is Stephanie Clifford – claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and was paid $130,000 as part of a nondisclosure agreement prior to the 2016 presidential election. She later tried to sue him for defamation after he labelled her claims a “total con job”, though this was dismissed by a judge in 2018.
Earlier this week, Ms Daniels poked fun at the charges levelled against Trump after being targeted by online abuse. “It’s definitely more fun being under my sexy man instead of under arrest”, she tweeted.
On Tuesday, an appeals court ruled that Ms Daniels must pay Donald Trump almost $122,000 in legal fees acquired through the defamation lawsuit she levelled against him. A commissioner for the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Trump’s legal team “reasonably spent” more than 183 hours on the case.
She was similarly ordered to pay $300,000 in attorney fees last year, but stated that “I will go to jail before I pay a penny.”
Photo: Talk TV